It's Germane

Library's Historic Laylight Removed for Restoration

A dramatic moment in the renovation and expansion of the library took place on Wednesday, March 28, 2012, as workers from Somers Stained Glass of Deer Park removed the stained glass laylight from the library’s dome. The laylight was removed in sections all of which, along with the metal framework and surrounding wood trim, will be cleaned, restored and re-installed in their original locations.

If, like this writer, you don’t know the difference between a laylight and a skylight, here’s what Merriam-Webster.com has to say: “A laylight is a glazed panel usually set flush with the ceiling for admitting natural or artificial light.” A skylight, is “an opening in a house roof or ship’s deck that is covered with translucent or transparent material and that is designed to admit light.” See the difference? I thought not. My best guess from a close reading of the definitions is that a laylight is not necessarily open to the outdoors, and is always installed flush to the ceiling, whereas a skylight always allows in natural light, and may be raised above the roof line. If you have more information on the difference between a laylight and a skylight, please leave a comment below. — Eric Cohen

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Thanks to photographer Michael Heller and The Sag Harbor Express for permission to use these wonderful photos. All photos copyright 2012, The Sag Harbor Express, all right reserved.

2 comments on “Library's Historic Laylight Removed for Restoration”

Don’t know if this helps any (you may have discovered this by now) = but I was wondering the same thing as I had never heard of laylight. I grew up in a building that had a skylight and thought all such openings were skylights.

Here’s a site I found that was helpful -http://www.wbdg.org/design/env_fenestration_slpglz.php

Building Envelope Design Guide – Sloped Glazing:
“Skylights have been used for over a century to provide interior daylighting. Early skylight systems consisted of plate glass (later wire glass) in metal frames and frequently incorporated both an exterior skylight and a decorative interior “diffuser” or “laylight”.”